diff --git a/lib/nvmf/rdma.c b/lib/nvmf/rdma.c
index 468424f29..189806828 100644
--- a/lib/nvmf/rdma.c
+++ b/lib/nvmf/rdma.c
@@ -318,7 +318,10 @@ spdk_nvmf_rdma_qpair_destroy(struct spdk_nvmf_rdma_qpair *rdma_qpair)
 		ibv_destroy_cq(rdma_qpair->cq);
 	}
 
-	spdk_put_io_channel(rdma_qpair->mgmt_channel);
+	if (rdma_qpair->mgmt_channel) {
+		spdk_put_io_channel(rdma_qpair->mgmt_channel);
+	}
+
 	/* Free all memory */
 	spdk_dma_free(rdma_qpair->cmds);
 	spdk_dma_free(rdma_qpair->cpls);